Plácido Domingo

VERDI La Traviata / Kleiber 4777115

Kleiber, the great Berlin-born conductor, finds a happy medium in his splendid "Traviata," with Ileana Cotrubas as Violetta and Plácido Domingo as Alfredo, both superb. His tempo for "Un dì felice" has a gentle gait, a bit slower than Toscanini¿s. The restraint allows the singers a little more room to stretch and bend the lines. As the voices blend during the final phrases, they sing with delectable pianissimo tenderness, especially Mr. Domingo¿s.

Record Review /
Anthony Tommasini,
The New York Times / 04. April 2010

Our favorite recording, from Deutsche Grammophon, has a superb cast, that includes Romanian soprano Ileana Cotrubas as an incredibly touching Violetta, Plácido Domingo as Alfredo and Sherrill Milnes as Germont. Carlos Kleiber and the Bavarian State Opera orchestra stir up the passions as few others have on disc.

Record Review /
Robert Thicknesse,
Opera Now (London) / 01. December 2011

[Alan Blyth, Gramophone, November 1977]: "Cotrubas's peculiarly plaintive, vibrating timbre and highly individual nuances seem to me perfectly fitted to the part. To those she here adds a sense of involvement and of spontaneity that suggests a live portrayal more palpably than any other on disc. In Act 2, if she does not have you close to tears, you must have a hard heart indeed . . . Kleiber gives the score a Toscanini-like sense of dramatic purpose and impending doom, without being quite as strict with his singers . . . I have no hesitation in recommending this brand-new DG set, which is easily the most warmly recorded of any" . . . Richard Fairman: Cotrubas was the first Violetta I saw in the theatre, at least singing in Italian, and I don't think I have ever seen a better one. As for Carlos Kleiber, he was a god among conductors for me and I didn't miss one of his appearances in London. Put the two together, with Plácido Domingo and Sherrill Milnes in attendance, and the result has to be a recording of high distinction . . . In Kleiber's hands the opera is constantly alive and once he has settled into a certain mood -- the slow, lyrical passages are heavenly -- the sense of expression tingling to the touch is as intoxicating as ever . . . I totally love this Violetta, unbearably tender in "Dite alla giovine", the tears clearly in her voice as she writes her letter to Alfredo. Most sopranos since her have felt too cool by comparison . . . Hugo Shirley: There's an awful lot of quality on show . . . [Kleiber] is superb: fresh and vibrant, detailed but never fussy, heartfelt but never indulgent . . . Cotrubas manages to create a real sense of strength of character through clever acting with the voice, so that you don't feel short-changed at the bigger moments, like "Amami, Alfredo". She also, of course, sings exquisitely in the more intimate passages . . . this set's probably still difficult to beat when it comes to studio recordings in (good) stereo sound, and it's a 'classic' in its own right.